Whose rules are these anyway?

Churches have changed a lot over the years.  Styles of worship, preaching, music, and even language, we might say, has moved with the times.  But the Bible, the word of God, has not changed.  What is the spirit of God's word?

There are many people and church groups that have certain rules that they believe are sins, when really they are just people's ideas or church traditions and, though many may be good ideas, should not be given the same amount of importance as God's word.  This is called Legalism.

 “Legalism: Strict, literal, or excessive conformity to the law or to a religious moral code.” – The Tenth Edition of Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary

 “Legalists are people who add personal preference to accepted doctrinal teaching, accept these additions as having equal weight with doctrinal teaching, and apply these additions in the judging of others.” – David Miller, Breaking Free: Rescuing Families from the Clutches of Legalism 

“Legalism is the reduction of life to mere technicalities. It substitutes code for conscience, ritual for worship, rectitude for holiness, morality for purity.” – Mark Buchanan, The Rest of God

Over the years many legalistic views have changed or been removed and new rules have been added.  To show how silly some of this is, in the past some churches thought it was wrong to kneel in prayer while others taught that kneeling was the ONLY way to pray and all else was wrong.

One group, who believed they had to bow their heads every time the name of Jesus was mentioned, made a young boy named Jesus change his name to Sam.

 Matthew 15:1-4 and 6-9 refers to the Pharisees and teachers of the Law re-interpreting the Old Testament according to their own man-made laws or traditions:

“Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, ‘Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.’ But He answered and said to them, ‘Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? For God commanded, saying ‘…Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. ‘Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’” 2  

So what are some of the human made rules we have today that make people think that Christianity is just a religion of 'NO'?  You can't do this and you can't do that.

I'm not that old but in my time as a Christian I have heard the following:

No dancing, no movies, no drinking, no gambling, no TV, women must grow out their hair, no makeup, no jewelry, no cussing, no eating or this and that, no mixed men and women swimming,  communion must be every Sunday, communion must be once a month, and the list could go on.  Some of these have passed into oblivion today but some still exist and cause many to run from the truth.  The truth is that Christ loves us just the way we are.  He will lead and guide us by our hearts.  If you feel something is wrong for you then it is wrong.  

Please don't misunderstand me.  Although these things are not considered sin, some of them are not a good idea for a Christian to be doing.  However, when we accept Christ as our savior, we are free from bondage and when God looks at us, He sees Jesus.  

God looks at the heart of each of us but we see only the outside of each other.  It is not ours to judge another's actions or behavior.  

Let's see what the bible says about some of these.

Dancing is often mentioned in the bible as a way to worship the Lord.  It is also mentioned as a form of entertainment.

But when Herod's birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company and pleased Herod, so that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask.”  Matthew 14:6,7

Today we have group dances with men and women and boys and girls with popular music.  These dances are fun.  As a Christian, when going to a dance, in my opinion, we need to be somewhat modest in our movements so as not to cause anyone else to sin by causing them to lust. In all our behavior we never be in danger of causing another to sin.  Christians need to decide for themselves what is appropriate to wear and how to behave.  It is between them and God and not for us to judge.

For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.  Galatians 5:13

What about movies?  When I was young, my best friend was not allowed to go to movies.  Her church stated that it was only a suggestion, but that the movie theater was not a good environment.  (She was not allowed to dance either for the same reason)  Movie theaters now are normally very clean and nice, safe places.  The movies that we choose to see are another story altogether.  Again, this is something we need to think about if we want to please God and not lead ourselves into temptation, reflect badly on Christianity, or cause others to sin.  Be thoughtful of the movies you choose to see if you choose to go.

Drinking is not prohibited in the bible but drunkenness is listed as a sin.  If drinking causes you to continue to the point of drunkenness, don't do it. If you are drinking for reasons like escaping your problems, or numbing your feelings, this is obviously not something God wants for you.  Also, as a Christian, you are always a witness to others and any behavior that causes another to sin or not believe in God, should be avoided.

One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand. One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. ...Romans 14:1-23 

Gambling is not prohibited in the bible but the love of money is.  Getting rich quick is definitely not according to God's word.  Only you know your own heart.  But once again, if you are gambling and a weak or new Christian sees you, will it lead them into sin?  We must always be careful.  Christianity is a great responsibility.  Although we don't want to consider human tradition to be equal to Christ's desires for our lives, we also don't want others to stumble.

But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.  1 Timothy 6: 9 - 10

I'm not going to go through all of the human traditions here.  You can look them up yourself, and should, if you have questions. Just google "what does the bible say about____"  You can see that these human made requirements are just that - made by humans.  I don't fault those who have come up with these "rules".  I believe they were trying to protect us from ourselves but they have caused many to fall away from God and many to not come in the first place.  Christ died for our sins.  If we accept that truth and ask Him to forgive us for our sins, He will do so.  He will love and guide us by our consciences. Putting our upbringing aside, trust only in Christ and His word. 

See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. Colossians 2:8

Life as a Christian can feel like a slippery slope sometimes but it is really very simple. We are to think of others before ourselves so keep this scripture in mind when you are considering your life as a Christian.  Have this attitude in all things.

Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble. 1 Corinthians 8:13 

Let your conscience be your guide. God is your conscience.